Please help me choose a university for Physics/Natural Sciences

[ClarasZoo]

My son is thinking of studying physics/natural sciences. He is predicted to get good grades. We live in the south. He has visited Cambridge and loved it. In particular he liked - accommodation on site, one to ones with tutors, nice "feel" to the town centre/studenty, the flexibility to change about with the subjects. What other universities would be similar (not Oxford)? I have no clue and I only ever visited one years ago and can't remember much about it! Obviously Cambridge would be nice but there must be other places not so competitive that would be similar. How do I go about helping him choose? Do you visit all of the possible choices? Help!!

[Needmoresleep]

Off topic a bit, but for EEE and Material Science, we know DC who saw advantage in Imperial over Oxbridge. Similarly DD who was a bit torn between medicine and biomedical engineering, had her sights on Imperial had she opted for the latter.

Any decisions may be dependent on lifestyle, teaching style and course content, but are not as automatic as some on MN might assume.

[amirrorimage]

user although my DC enjoys and appears to does best at the maths component of physics, I don't think the Cambridge maths with physics course was known of as a possible degree option. It was certainly never mentioned (even if just to be stated as out of reach for ability). It is good that you highlight it.
I am told that the Imperial physics course content will be revised in the near future.

[Malbecfan]

Ok, DD1 is studying Physical NatSci at Cambridge. Her boyfriend is reading Physics at Oxford. Another schoolfriend tried for Oxford for Physics but is now at Imperial. All are happy and doing well, if their first year results are anything to go by.

Bf and friend both wanted to specialise in Physics, hence the Oxford applications. DD loved Chemistry too so wanted the broader-based degree. She loves being able to choose modules to study this year.

The supervisions (tutorials) comment is not quite correct in DD's case. In the first year, NatSci students have supervisions in all their subjects on a weekly basis but the ratio is 2 students to one tutor. In the first year, all DD's supervisors were PhD students. Things will change a bit this year but she is not here to ask, so I can't elaborate.

Regarding where to look: I have posted this before but will do so again. Both DDs drew up a list of institutions that offered their chosen course. We then went to visit those places. We actually first visited Cambridge in the summer of year 11, booking a Premier Inn and walking round all the colleges. Some places were discounted very quickly as DD didn't like the city/vibe/whatever (they are fickle!) Both then got their lists down to 5. DD1 was interviewed by her chosen college but offered another one, which she gratefully accepted and is really happy there.

[user2222018]

I don't think the Cambridge maths with physics course was known of as a possible degree option.

The UK has a long tradition of doing a lot of physics in its maths departments. So if you like more the maths and theory side of physics it is a good idea to look at mathematical physics/maths with physics and also maths courses in maths departments where is a lot of physics. After the first year you can often concentrate on applied maths and mathematical physics; much of the first year of a maths course is calculus etc which is similar to the maths that a physics course has to cover too.

[user2222018]

All university courses do regular revisions and updates of their content. I'm not sure that Imperial physics is doing more than that? (Though it is true that historically Imperial has been a bit conservative and slow to move its curriculum content towards modern topics.)

In the first year, all DD's supervisors were PhD students.

This is not negative: PhD students are often better at explaining material as they have learnt it more recently themselves. I would agree that PhD student supervision can be variable, more variable than that of older staff, but it can often be much more enthusiastic, dedicated and pastorally supportive.

2:1 is the normal ratio for sciences. Having 2 in a supervision is an advantage as the students feed off each other and stimulate each other's thoughts. This is different from essay subjects, where it would be usually be 1:1, with the supervisor discussing the student's essay.

[amirrorimage]

user, with the caveat that the information about the Imperial physics course changes comes from DC rather than university staff, DC thinks
It is more than just a regular revision. However it is for the future years and sounds rather nebulous in that there will be less content to memorise but more time spent on analysis.

As an aside my DC had definitely not heard of the Cambridge maths with physics option and was a bit surprised that this had not been mentioned at the Cambridge SPC residential course rather than natural sciences as it would have been a very attractive option for many on that course . Hopefully your comment about it will point future students to considering it.